In 2013, MLB was rocked by the revelation that the Biogenesis clinic in Miami was peddling performance-enhancing drugs to numerous star players from the league.
Next, then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig instructed his investigators to gather evidence for suspensions.
In a short span of six months, these investigators kept up with Selig’s expectations and produced the requisite evidence.
The former Yankees shortstop, Alex Rodriguez, felt the brunt of this storm.
He was handed a staggering 211-game suspension for his Biogenesis Scandal involvement and taking steroids.
However, it was reported that MLB investigators adopted questionable tactics, blurring the line between fair play and foul play.
They resorted to cash payments, witness intimidation, and even purchased stolen evidence in broad daylight to punish the culprits.
Even more shockingly, the senior vice president of MLB investigations, Dan Mullin, found himself embroiled in controversy.
Accusations surfaced of an inappropriate sexual relationship between Mullin and a former Biogenesis clinic staffer, Loraine Delgadillo, who also happened to be a key witness in the investigation.
While 12 other players implicated in the Biogenesis Scandal accepted 50-game suspensions, Rodriguez chose to fight his 211-game suspension. Next, the MLB Players Association formally appealed against A-Rod’s suspension, leading to a high-stakes arbitration hearing.
When Alex Rodriguez’s camp learned of the secret affair between Delgadillo and Mullin, they deployed aggressive tactics to rope in Loraine Delgadillo to secure her cooperation during the arbitration hearing.
As per ESPN obtained documents, a treasure trove of roughly 1,400 pages of DEA notes from the federal investigation, revealed that $100,000 was said to have exchanged hands to acquire Delgadillo’s allegiance.
Loraine Delgadillo later disclosed that a private investigator hired by Alex Rodriguez initially dangled $10,000 before her estranged husband, but when she caught wind of the potential windfall, negotiations escalated to a six-figure sum.
Delgadillo, in return, provided a signed affidavit, her cellphone, Mullin’s business card, and a card that had accompanied flowers sent to her. Also, a promise of an additional $50,000 loomed if she were summoned to testify at Rodriguez’s arbitration hearing.
In August 2013, MLB announced a staggering 211-game suspension for Rodriguez. However, following the arbitration hearing, the suspension was reduced to 162 games, sidelining him for the entire 2014 season. Rodriguez made his comeback on opening day in 2015, playing against the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
While A-Rod’s lawsuit was dropped, the league announced in May 2014 the “restructuring” of its Department of Investigations, which included the dismissal of two top investigators.
MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred explained the move, saying, “After the Biogenesis investigation, we made a decision that certain structural changes were necessary in order to have a more efficient and effective investigative unit.”
Among those casualties were Dan Mullin, the senior vice president of investigations, and George Hanna, the senior director of investigations, both of whom had been brought in following the Mitchell Report’s recommendations in 2008.
